Berger pointed to Obama's repeated references to "tactical"
setbacks for US-supported Iraqi forces and lucky breaks for the
Islamic State in capturing territory in Iraq and Syria over the
past week.

Berger noted: "For those who do not speak Wonkese, making
reference to an enemy’s 'tactical' success is code for saying
that the enemy is not 'strategic' ... Tactics are short-term
ploys, easy to dismiss. Strategy is for winners."

Berger disputes the notion that ISIS doesn't have a strategy.
Middle East experts have pointed out that ISIS is using
religion and Islamic law to establish a social contract with the
Muslims living in its territory, demanding taxes and adherence to
its strict version of Sharia law in exchange for goods and
services.

These policies indicate that ISIS' strategy is rooted in
long-term dominance rather than short-term gains.

ISIS is also strategic about which territory it seizes and when,
as the below map illustrates. The map depicts the network of
ISIS-controlled towns linking the group's territory near Aleppo,
which is Syria's largest city, to its territory near Baghdad,
which is Iraq's largest.

ISIS also recently seized Palmyra in Syria, which sits at a
crossroads between Damascus, the capital of Syria, Homs, a supply
center for the Syrian army, and Deir al-Zor, a government
stronghold.

REUTERS

ISIS exploits existing tensions in the areas it wants to take
over, creates further divisions in these areas, and then seizes
control of the territory when it can, Berger noted.

The group then uses whatever resources exist in that area — oil,
artifacts, people's money and personal property — to fund more
expansion. ISIS is also very media-savvy, using propaganda to
recruit new fighters the group can radicalize for its mission.

We have yet to find out whether ISIS's strategy is sustainable
long-term, Berger argued, but failing to acknowledge that ISIS
has a long-term strategy could hamper efforts to
extinguish the terror group.

The US strategy, which includes supplying weapons, carrying out
air strikes, and training Iraqi forces, hasn't succeeded in
preventing ISIS from making gains in Iraq and Syria.

Iraqi security forces inspect the site of a car bomb
attack on the outskirt of Diyala province May 24, 2015. The
attack killed three civilians and wounded eight others, police
and medical sources said.REUTERS/Stringer

Berger wrote: "Perversely, the United States is itself sorely
lacking in strategy, whether in its pedestrian or mythical
definitions, with regard to the problem of ISIL. We have deployed
a fairly limited collection of tactics, with an increasingly
baseless confidence that these will 'buy time' for improbable
political resolutions in Iraq and Syria. Buying time is
inherently tactical, or in this case, magical."